Athletic game ball



M. s. REACH v 2,175,128

. ATHLETIC GAME BALL Filed March 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ti/BULAR lav/r Fnsn/c Oct. 3, 1939. M. B. REACH 2,175,128

ATHLETIC GAME BALL I Filed March 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MQQW $44 GUM MM" Patented on. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE The invention concerns an athletic game ball having a fabric wall portion.

Various main and subsidiary features of the invention will be described hereinafte and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a reduced'side view of a wax or other form upon which the ball structure is built Fig. 2 is a larger side view of the form than that shown in Fig. l covered with the first layer of stockinet or tubular knitted fabric, this view being in the nature of a diagram and showing the knitted fabric in part only.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of only the end portion of Fig. 2 with a cord winding applied over the stockinet.

. Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view showing the first layer of stockinet with the cord wind- 20 ing applied, the section being taken longitudinally of the ball.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental sectionaiview similar to- Fig. 4 showing a second layer of stockinet over the cord winding.

Fig. 6 is an exaggerated iragmental sectional view showing the end of the stockinet tubular member out off, the wax or other form having beenbroken up and removed from the hollow carcass, and a rubber bladder introduced in place so thereof, and inflated.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of arubber ring or end piece to be applied as a reinforcement within the end of the hollow carcass and around the end of the bladder, this ring being of substantially 3'5 frusto conical'form.

Fig. 8 is an exaggerated fragmental sectional view of one end portion of the ball as thus far formed with the inside rubber ring of Fig. 7 applied to the end of the bladder before the end por- 40 tion of the textile carcass is cemented down thereon.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 with the end portion of thetextile carcass cemented down onto the rubber ring.

45 Fig. 10 is a. perspective view of an outside rubber end piece to be applied over the open end of the textile carcass to. form a closure at this point, this closure member being of substantially frusto conical form. I 1

59 Fig. 11 is an elevation of the end portion of the carcass with the outside rubber end piece cemented in .place, the bladder and the layersbf the textile carcassbeing shown in dotted line, the

bladder having been inflated to its maximum ex- 55 tent and the cure having been effected,

' Fig. 12 is a sectional view of Fig. 11 through the longitudinal axis of thball.

Fig. 13 is a side view of a. part of the end portion of the ball with leather cover members cemerited thereon.

Fig. 14 is an exaggerated sectional view of the layers of stockinet with cord winding between them showing a portion of the bladder and a portion of the leather cover.

Fig. 15 showsa ball fabric.

g. 16 is a view of 'one of the panels used in making the ball of Fig. 15.

The drawings are more or less diagrammatic and exaggerated more or less for convenience of illustration. 3

In making the ball a form [0 is used upon which the textile material comprised in the wall of the ball is applied. This form may be of wax, or low. fusible metal, adapted to be melted out of the 20 partly made ball, or said form may be of a collapsible, structure of aluminum or other material in sections, which may be removed section by section from the partly completed ball during its manufacture.

This wax or other form may be of different using non-stretchable 1W shapes but in the particular form disclosed herein it is of the general shape of a foot ball except that it has flat circular areas It at its ends lying in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the form. Y

The textile fabric employed in providing the fabricated layer or layers is preferably stockinet or knitted fabric. This is in the form of a tube or sleeve. One of these sleeves I2 is drawn over the wax or other form to make the foundation layer, said sleeve being sufliciently long to pro-. vide surplus extensions l2a beyond the ends of the form. This sleeve is stretched by force applied in the direction of the wales of the knitting i. e. in a direction lengthwise of the axis of the sleeve and of the form and for doing this the extensions may be held firmly while the. form is turned about its axis.

In this action the extensions are twisted and a 4.6 pull is thereby exerted on the fabric lengthwise. thereof. This stretched-condition of the iabricis illustrated in Fig. 2.v The turning of thefabric covered form about its longitudinal axis while the extensions are l firmly held may be performed by any suitable means, .for instanceby holding the extensions withthe fingers at a point close to the ends of the form while the form is rolled on a table, or the extensions may be held by any suitable clamping means while the form is rotated by hand until the desired stretched condition of the fabric is attained. After the fabric has been drawn taut to the desired degree of tension and thereby closely fits the form it is tied with a string l2b at each end of the form close to the flat end faces I l thereof, the string encircling the fabric extension at this point.

Instead of a string, a suitable clamp may be used. The ball at this stage then has a cord l4 wound tightly and spirally thereon, so that each turn of the cord will lie alongside of the preceding turn. This winding of the cord will form a layer of reinforcing material extending along the body thereof and terminating at the points It: a little short of the ends of the form, leaving, however, a portion of the stockinet exposed at each end of the form, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. After the cord winding is applied, for which any suitable means, like a lathe, may be employed, rubber or other suitable cement is applied to the article, as

thus far formed, by dipping or otherwise. Next, a second layer of stockinet in the form of a sleeve, indicated at I20, is applied to the ball, stretched, and tied like the first layer to'provide additional lengthwise reinforcement and to compensate for 1 any irregularities and make a smooth surface.

After these cemented parts have thoroughly dried, the surplus stockinet is cut oil at both ends of the form close to the said ends, which leaves an opening l3 at each end of the textile carcass, see Figs. 6, 8, and 9.

Then the wax form is broken up by hitting the ball with a suitable implement and the pieces are shaken out through one of said openings at the end of the'carcass. I I

If a bladder of rubber or the like is to be used, this, as shown at i6, is now inserted in the ball through one of the end openings, and the ball is blown up to its approximate size by inflating the bladder. Next, a rubber ring I? of frustoconical shape to fit the substantially conical end formation of the ball, and which may be termed the inside rubber closure or reinforce, is cemented to the end of the bladder with the axis of said ring coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the ball. This rubber ring tapers in thickness from its center portion to its edge. The next step is to cement the end portions of the stockinet down on the rubber ring ii, see Figs. 8 and 9 in this connection, and thereafter an outside rubber end piece or cap i8 Fig. 10 of substantially frustoconical form with a rounded apex portion 20 is cemented to the stockinetlayer on the outer side thereof.

This cap encloses the end of the ball, and as it is comparatively thick at its center portion or apex, and tapers in thickness to its edge, it will fill out the end of the ball so that no vacant space will be left at this point which otherwise might exist by reason of the central opening in the rubber ring if: The assembled carcass is now placed in a mold, the mold is closed, the bladder is inflated to a point where the side orouter face of the carcass is brought into contact with the wall of themold under pressure. Heat is then applied, and the desired cure is effected, the ball then being in the condition represented by Fig. ,1.

' After the cure, the carcass: with the bladder therein is removed from the mold. It is then covered with self-curing cement, and the leather panels ill or pieces to form the cover are likewise coated with the same cement and are fitted edge to edge to form the cover, the joints where the edges of the cover pieces contact each other being flush. This pieced together cover is then molded to the ball under light heat and with just enough pressure to thoroughly iron the cover in place. Y

The invention is not limited to the use of a bladder, but, onthe contrary, features thereof may be embodied in a ball in which the end of the carcass opposite to the end where the'valve is located a hole will be left of about one-fourth A) of an inch in diameter, and just before the ball is put through its first heating operation,

there will be poured into the carcass through this liquid. After removing the ball from the'first cure, it is submitted to a universal tumbling movement that will distribute the liquid lining material evenly on the inside wall of the carcass as it cools. In this method, in which the bladder is omitted, the carcass will be blown up to prescribed size at the proper period, i. e., after the end closures have been applied, and the carcass is in'the mold.

One of the above methods may be employed for one grade of ball, and the other method for a ball of another grade.

It will be observed that the invention provides a ball properly balanced of practically uniform manufacture. That the carcass of textile material, having been stretched, is substantially inextensible and takes stresses that otherwise would be imposed on the cover, and that said cover is reinforced to such an extent by the textile fabric carcass that no stitching is required to hold the sections of the cover together, the cement being 40 the only securing medium employed.

The air valve may be provided by a plug 20 of rubber carried by the rubber cap or washer which covers the end of the ball.

In the case of a foot ball the valve for. inflation 5 would be placed in each endof the ball'and would be inflated through a needle in ordinary practice.

A valve would be used, preferably, at each pole or end of the ball. The prevailing valve in use today is made without metal parts, and depends 5 upon the constricting qualities of its rubber wall to seal the opening. Occasionally valves of this character indicate a slight leak. In the case of an ordinary sewn type of ball the bladder may be withdrawn and replaced. In the present invenlayers of tubular textile fabric employed in the carcass.

The use of tubular knitted fabric applied under tension as above lends itself to an even distribution of the meshes or loops in-the various zones of the ball, and under even tension, it being observed that when pulling stresses are applied to the tubular fabric substantially in a direction along the axis of the ball, the effect will be uni-' form upon the longitudinal males of the fabric, contributing to a uniform distribution of the loops around any particular zone or course of knitting substantially under uniform tension. 76

,other zones or circular courses of knitting may be stretched more or less. Tubular knitted fabric is made in courses running spirally around the tube at a low angle, with the loops, as the fabric comes from the knitting needles, under substantially the same degree of. tension, and therefore when drawn over a form (such as shown herein) and its ends twisted, the effect on the tubular fabric is to place each w'ale or longitudinal row of stitches under the same condition and tension as in every other wale or longitudinal row of stitches, and the general result will be that the carcass, made up of the stretched layers of tubu lar knitted fabric, the cord and the material with which these layers are impregnated and cemented opened or be left open, .the wax is removed through the open end, or ends, and the rubber together, will be balanced.

Features of the invention may beembodied in a ball employing textile carcass material which is relatively non-stretchable initially. This material may consist of woven linen or cotton. Fig. 15 shows panels 2|! of this material tapering towards their ends laid on the wax or other removable form of spheroidal shape. ihe edges of said panels abut and the tapered ends are adapted to come to a point at the poles or" the spheroidal form of wax.

When cemented into place on said removable form, cord winding 22 is applied as in the form first described, with the spiral turns of the cord lying adjacent and preferably in contact with each other, the winding of the cord taking place about the major axis of the form. Incarrying out the method with this non-stretchable material, the ends of the textile carcass would be closure pieces or patches and the valves are applied in the same way as before described in connection with the'use of knitted tubular fabric. So too, the same impregnation of the fabric with cement or like material may be used as before form, or

described.

Reverting to the provisions for obtaining the opening, or openings, at the end, or ends, of the spheroidal body for removal of the wax or other the insertion of the bladder, it will be seen that the cord winding ends short of the length of the ball, so that the ends of the panels exposed beyond the terminals of the cord winding may be turned back from the surface of the end portions of the wax form, so that after the wax form is removed, the bladder may be inserted through the opening left by the turned back ends of the panels. may then be applied to lie between the bladder and the ends of the panels when these are folded down, and then the rubber cap like l8 maybe applied over the ends of the panelsof textile fab ric, and finally the cover sections of leather or other suitable material may be cemented in place I over the carcass made up of the textile panels and cord winding, all substantially as described in connection with the form of the invention flrstf described.

One object of the invention is to produce an inflated ball of the valve type having its wall reinforced by cord winding applied thereto. The method involves the useof a rigid form upon which the carcass is built up, one portion of this The rubber reinforcement ring carcass and said ends being vulcanized, said end members consisting of an inner rubber ring 01' carcass being the cord winding. This is applied while the carcass is still on the rigid form and as a result the winding is performed uniformly and at a uniform tension. Variables enter into a process where the winding is done upon a carcass Features relating to the method form the subject matter of application filed March 1, 1939,

Ser. No. 259,243 as a division of the present case.

I claim:

'1. An inflatable athletic game ball comprising stretched knitted fabric and a layer of cord winding thereon, said fabric and cord being impregnated with cement retaining the fabric in its stretched condition.

2. An inflatable athletic game ball having a plurality of tubular knitted fabrics serving as carcass members, one within the other, stretched and set to the approximate shape of the ball.

3. An inflatable athletic game ball comprising a carcass of a layer of tubular knitted fabric stretched to the approximate shape of the ball, a layer of cord wound about said stretched tubular fabric in a direction transverse to the axis of said tubular fabric, and a second layer of tubular knitted fabric stretched over the cord winding, said layers being set to shape by cement.

4. An inflatable athletic game ball having a carcass of generally ellipsoidal form including a knitted fabric stretched to conform to the said form and set in said stretched condition, and a cover applied to the carcass.

5. An inflatable athletic game ball generally of ellipsoidal form having a carcass including tuba-- lar knitted fabric, the axis of which coincides with the major axis of the ellipsoid.

6. An inflatable athletic game ball according to claim 4 in which the knitted fabric is set by a cord wound about the layer of knitted fabric laterally of said ellipsoidal formand substantialy from end to end of the same.

'1. An inflatable athletic game ball according to claim 4 in which the carcass is set in its stretched and shaped condition by cement.

8. An inflated athletic game ball of substantially ellipsoidal form comprising a hollow carcass of textile fabric of said ellipsoidal shape, impregnated with cement of rubber or the like, said carcass having rubber members at its end, said carcass and said ends being vulcanized, substantially'as described.

9.'An' inflated athletic game ball 'of substantially ellipsoidal form comprising a hollow carcass of textile fabric of said ellipsoidal shape impregnated with cement of rubber or the like, said carcass having rubber members .at its end, said .ball and balancing each other to preserve the balanced condition of the ball, each valve being sealable to cure any leak therethrough.

11. An inflatable game ball of ellipsoidal form having a carcass of textile material and a wind- .end of the said ellipsoidal carcass ing of cord, the axis of which coincides with that of the ellipsoid, and an opening at the pointed .with a patch or closure therefor.

12. An inflatable game ball having a carcass including tubular knitted fabric with closure means for the ends of the said tubular fabric.

13. An inflatable athletic ball having a carcass member of stretched knitted fabric and a cord winding thereon.

14. An inflatable athletic ball having a carcass member of tubular knitted fabric, stretched to the general shape of the ball, and means holding said tubular fabric in its stretched condition, substantially as described.

15. A game ball of the inflatable valve type comprising a carcass having a form shaped foundation member of textile material fabricated prior to its incorporation into the ball, cord wound on the foundation and shaped by the form, and covering panels of sheet like material adhesively applied to the surface of the carcass.

16. A game ball according to claim 15 in which the ball is of ellipsoidal shape, and in which the cord winding stops short of each pole of the ellipsoid, and a separate closing member at each pole in homogeneous union with the carcass substantially as described.

17. A game ball of the inflatable valve type comprising a carcass member consisting of a foundation member of fabricated textile material, cord winding homogeneously united thereto, havsure for said opening and covering panels of' sheet like material adhesively applied to the surface ofthe carcass, substantially as described.

19. A game ball of the inflatable valve type according to claim 18, in which the cover panels are also applied over the surface of the closure adhesively, substantially as described.

20. A game ball according to claim 15 of ellipsoidal shape and having a substantially nonstretchable tie member, for the cord winding, of textile material fabricated prior to its incorporation' into the ball and homogeneously united with the cord winding, substantially as described.

21. A inflatable athletic game ball having a carcass member of tubular knitted fabric stretched to the general shape of the ball and cord wound on said fabric.

22. An inflatable athletic game ball according to claim 21 in which the cord winding and the knit fabric are secured together by bonding material.

.. MILTON B, REACH. 

